The road to Tokyo

Tokyo 2020 will host the 25th edition of the Men's Olympic Football Tournament

16 teams, including hosts Japan, will compete to win the gold medal

We reveal the qualification dates and details for each confederation

Only 16 teams will have the privilege of vying for the gold medal at the Men's Olympic Football Tournament Tokyo 2020, the best of the best, which is why booking a place at the competition is an achievement in and of itself.

As the host nation, Japan are so far the only side to be confirmed to compete in the tournament.

The question now is, what does your national team need to do to fill one of the 15 remaining places and join them in Tokyo next year?

CONFEDERATIONS

QUOTA PLACES

AFC (Asia)

3

CAF (Africa)

3

Concacaf (North, Central America & the Caribbean)

2

CONMEBOL (South America)

2

OFC (Oceania)

1

UEFA (Europa)

4

Host Country (Japan)

1

Let's take a look at the regional qualification tournaments that will take place throughout the year and next, in chronological order:

Europe
The UEFA European U-21 Championship takes place in Italy and San Marino from 16 June to 30 June, where the top four teams at the end of the tournament will qualify for Tokyo 2020. Of the four European nations that participated at the previous Men's Olympic Football Tournament at Rio 2016, only Germany and Denmark are in contention to return, with Portugal and Sweden missing out.

Oceania
The OFC Men's Olympic Qualifier 2019 will be held in Fiji from 21 September to 5 October, where eight teams will compete for one coveted spot at Tokyo 2020. Fiji represented the region at Rio 2016 for the first time, while New Zealand had qualified for London 2012 and Beijing 2008.

Africa
The CAF U-23 Africa Cup of Nations will take place in Egypt from 8 to 22 November, where eight nations will vie for three qualification tickets to Tokyo 2020. Nigeria are the defending champions, having qualified alongside Algeria and South Africa last time out.

Asia
Three spots at Tokyo 2020 will be up for grabs at the AFC U-23 Championship Thailand 2020, which will be held from 8 to 26 January. Sixteen nations will take part in the region's final qualification tournament. If Japan reach the semi-finals, all three of the other semi-finalists will be guaranteed qualification to the Men's Olympic Football Tournament as Japan are automatically allocated a spot as hosts. Japan, Korea Republic and Iraq were the three Asian nations who competed at the last Olympic tournament at Rio 2016.

South America
Colombia will host the South American U-23 qualifying tournament in early 2020 with the exact dates still to be confirmed. The top two teams from the competition will book tickets to Tokyo 2020. Argentina and Colombia qualified last time out, while Brazil, qualified for Rio 206 as hosts, went on to win gold.

North, Central America and Caribbean
The dates and host nation are still to be confirmed for Concacaf's final qualification tournament. The top two teams will qualify for Tokyo 2020. Mexico and Honduras represented the region last time out.